An easy to make sushi roll filled with spicy chicken, avocado, and cucumber. This spicy chicken sushi roll is the perfect meal to impress your family and friends.
I know how complicated this looks, but I promise you, it’s not hard. And before long, probably after the first roll, you’ll be able to make your own sushi rolls right at home filled with your favorite ingredients.
A few weeks ago, I took a sushi making class with my coworkers. It was such a fun experience. And I definitely learned a lot of tricks to making sushi. From how to roll sushi to how to cut them. Because it seems I’ve been making sushi rolls wrong all this time. No wonder the rice stuck to everything. And no wonder it was so messy and complicated that I quit after making it just once years ago. It was such a mess to clean up I didn’t want to try again. At least, I still kept the bamboo sushi rolling mat. It comes in handy now that I know how to make them properly.
This spicy chicken rolls is filled with spicy chicken, sliced avocado, and cucumber. The ingredients are wrapped in a layer of seaweed, rice, and furikake (rice seasoning). These rolls are simple to make and so delicious. Once you know how to make these, you’ll want to change the ingredients up and make your own flavors. Because sushi really only requires rice. Everything else can be customized.
First, prepare all the ingredients. Slice the cucumber thinly, cut the avocado, cook the rice, cut the seaweed in half, and mix the shredded chicken with mayo and Sriracha. You want all the ingredients nearby so that you can reach for it. Trust me, if you don’t have all the ingredients prepared, you’ll waste time going back and forth between rolling your sushi and preparing the ingredients. By having all your ingredients ready, all you have to do is reach for them and roll your sushi. I used canned chicken, but you’re welcome to use leftover Rotisserie chicken. And I also used leftover rice from the night before and just reheated it.
Place a half sheet of seaweed on a cutting board. Spread warm rice over the seaweed. You want to completely cover the seaweed in a layer of rice. I used about ¼-1/3 cup of rice for a half sheet of seaweed. I recommend using short grain rice because it’s stickier, but if you don’t have short grain rice, you can use long grain. Just make sure that the rice is moist.
Make sure that your fingers are wet before you spread the rice in an even layer. The wetness helps prevent the rice from sticking to your fingers as you work with it.
Sprinkle rice seasoning over the rice. It’s up to you how much seasoning you use. I love rice seasoning so I was generous with how much I placed on the rice. Traditionally, toasted black sesame seeds are used. But I had rice seasoning so I used that.
Now, flip the seaweed and rice over to the other side so that rice side is faced down.
Line spoonfuls (about 3 tablespoons) of the spicy chicken in a thin layer near the bottom of the seaweed. You want to build a small wall along the bottom. Add slices of cucumber and avocado to the spicy chicken.
Once all the ingredients are placed, take the bottom edge of the seaweed rice and roll the seaweed and ingredients up until you reach the other end. The rice side should be on the outside now.
It’s okay if the rice looks messy. Mine looked like the rice was falling off the seaweed. That’s okay.
Take your bamboo sushi rolling mat and place it in a Ziploc bag. I always thought that I needed the sushi mat to the roll the sushi, but actually, you only need it at the end to smooth out the rolls. You want the sushi mat inside the Ziploc bag to prevent the rice from sticking to the mat itself. When I made sushi all those years ago, I had an awful time trying to clean rice that dried on the mat. It drove me crazy. This method makes it so much easier to clean because the Ziploc doesn’t stick as much to the rice.
Place the Ziploc sushi mat over the sushi roll. Gently press against the bamboo sushi mat where the roll is. This helps press the rice back against the sushi and smoothes out any area where the rice might start to fall off.
Carefully remove the mat from the sushi roll.
Take a sharp knife and cut the roll in half by sawing back and forth. You don’t want to press down into the sushi roll because that will cause the roll to break apart. It also squishes the sushi roll. By sawing back and forth, the roll remains intact.
Place the two halves next to each other, and make two to three more slices. I made 3 slices to create 8 pieces. But you can make 2 slices for thicker pieces.
Continue to make these rolls until you’ve used all your ingredients.
Serve the spicy chicken rolls with soy sauce, pickled ginger, and/or wasabi.
Enjoy!
Let me know if you have any questions. I had someone show me how to do this in a sushi making class. It’s a lot harder to explain in words. So let me know if you questions! I’d love to help. And I’d love to see yours when you make them!
- 1 cup shredded chicken (canned or rotisserie)
- 3 ½ tablespoons mayo, more to taste
- 1 tablespoon Sriracha
- 2 sheets seaweed, cut in half
- 1 ½ cups cooked rice (short grain preferred)
- Rice seasoning
- 1 Persian cucumber, sliced (or regular cucumbers)
- 1 large avocado, sliced
- Mix together the shredded chicken with mayonnaise and Sriracha. Set the bowl aside for now.
- Place a half sheet of seaweed on a cutting board. Place about ¼ - ⅓ cup of warm rice on the left side of the half sheet of seaweed. Lightly wet your fingers to prevent the rice from sticking. Spread the rice across the seaweed in an even layer.
- Sprinkle rice seasoning over the rice.
- Now, flip the seaweed and rice over to the other side so that rice side is faced down.
- Line spoonfuls (about 3 tablespoons) of the spicy chicken in a thin layer along the bottom of the seaweed. Add slices of cucumber and avocado to the spicy chicken.
- Once all the ingredients are placed, take the bottom edge of the seaweed rice and roll the seaweed and ingredients up until you reach the other end. The rice side should be on the outside now.
- Take the bamboo sushi rolling mat and place it in a Ziploc bag.
- Place the Ziploc-ed sushi mat over the sushi roll. Gently press against the bamboo sushi mat where the sushi roll is. This helps press the rice back against the sushi and smoothes out any area where the rice might start to fall off.
- Carefully remove the mat from the sushi roll.
- Take a sharp knife and cut the roll in half by sawing back and forth. You don’t want to press down into the sushi roll because that will cause the roll to break apart. By sawing back and forth, the roll remains intact.
- Place the two halves next to each other, and make two to three more slices to create 6-8 pieces total.
- Continue to make these rolls until all the ingredients are used.
- Serve the spicy chicken rolls with soy sauce, pickled ginger, and/or wasabi.
Matthew Pileski says
Looks amazing!
The Creators Toolbox says
I have never had sushi before but you have made me want to!
jmd12340 says
I always associated sushi with raw fish. Thanks for pointing out it really is about the rice. I will give this a try.
fromthefamilytable says
Profession-looking result. The Ziploc trick is neat.
Nature's Child says
Being Gluten Free I look forward to trying this, I enjoy spicy foods!
charliiandmeg says
Mmmmm looks tasty! 😀 <3
Healthy Not Nuts says
I am so glad you posted this recipe. I have been contemplating learning to make sushi for awhile now, I think now is a good time to give it a shot starting with your recipe ~ Thanks!
CHICHIALAMODE says
These look beautiful Andrea! I can’t eat raw fish for health reasons so this is a great idea, thanks for the inspiration, Jayne X
desleyjane says
Mmmnnn looks so good!!!
Acupcakeforlove says
Yummm!!